


It's My Own Damn Fault

by GravityWhatGravity



Series: Don't Know the Reason [3]
Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Angst, Bad coping mechanisms, Established Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-14 18:22:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14141850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GravityWhatGravity/pseuds/GravityWhatGravity
Summary: Mary woke up with a headache and a dry mouth. It took her a few moments to asses the situation.A story set after Joseph and the Dadsona hooked up in which Mary and Joseph are falling apart and Robert is trying to help his friend.Part of a series but works standalone.





	It's My Own Damn Fault

**Author's Note:**

> Let's just pretend Dream Daddy is a thing people are still into
> 
> Warning for some references to suicide and self hatred.

**January 2018**

Mary woke up with a headache and a dry mouth. It took her a few moments to asses the situation.

 

No, she wasn’t in her own bed. Yes, the rhythmic  _ tap tap tap _ was Betsy’s tail against the bed frame. And yes, that did mean she’d got drunk enough to allow Robert to take her home and tuck her into his bed. Knowing Robert, he was probably cramped on that old sofa of his. The thought of him dragging her drunk ass back to his was funny enough to distract from remembering why she’d felt the need to drown her troubles more heavily than usual.

 

Almost.

 

A wave of nausea rippled through her as she recalled the previous night. A shouting match with Joseph that never strayed above a harsh whisper, lest they wake the children. Accusation thrown like knives. More flinches and aborted gestures and feeble attempts to make things better. Mary, storming out of the house while Joseph bemoaned her ability to abandon their children.

 

Really, it was no wonder Robert ended up taking care of her. Mary could walk the line between tipsy and plastered blindfolded with her hand tied behind her back, but nothing made her lose control like Joseph’s low expectations of her. Of course she’d end up in Robert’s bed.

 

Better her than Joseph, she supposed.

 

“Hey,” Robert said from the doorway, voice pitched low. Mary appreciated the consideration.

  
“That’s what you say to the lady half naked in your bed?” Mary tutted, turning to lie sideways in the bed like she was about to question some Stormtroopers. “I know I raised you better than that, daring.”

 

Robert snorted, leaning down to stroke Betsy. “Usually we’ve already done the interesting part by now. No need to impress ‘em.”

 

“Well, consider me unimpressed.”

 

He reached into his bedside table rummaged around before presenting her with a half water bottle and some painkillers. “That any better?”

 

“I dunno,” she said, gulping down the water, “I could do with some breakfast, too.”

 

Robert shook his head fondly before leaving the room. A few moments later she heard the clicking of his old gas stove. Maybe she’d trained him well after all.

 

Mary pulled herself out of bed and started searching for her clothes. ‘Half naked’ might be a slight exaggeration, but Robert’s T shirt and sweats weren’t exactly appropriate for walking home, even if home was only across the street. She wasn’t the only nosey neighbour in the cul-de-sac, and god knows Joseph would be mad at her without having to deal with the neighbourhood gossip.

 

By the time she’d located and changed into her sweater and skirt the smell of bacon was drifting in from the kitchen.

 

The impromptu sleepover might be new, but Mary knew her way around Robert’s kitchen well enough to pull her weight making breakfast. They worked quietly, moving around each other in the cramped space without much hassle. She’d always enjoyed the quiet that came with Robert’s hatred of small talk, but today her head was especially grateful. Before long they were sitting on the sofa, plates in their laps, with some documentary playing on TV.

 

“Thanks,” Mary said, breaking the silence.

 

“You’d do the same for me. Have done the same for me.”

 

He wasn’t wrong. For all she’d gained a drinking buddy when Val left, he hadn’t exactly been stable. Hell, he still wasn’t particularly  _ okay _ . It was just the way it worked, she guessed. When his daughter left and she’d pushed away her frustrations at the Church Moms and her extra work to pay for Joseph’s degree and focused on taking care of Robert, instead. 

 

She wasn’t the only one Joseph had hurt, and Val still wasn’t on speaking terms with her father, but she’d needed someone to take of her, and Robert returned the favour.

 

She remembered when her and Joseph just to be like that, guarding each other’s weaknesses instead of seeking them out as targets everytime they disagreed.

 

She wondered if he’d worried about her when she didn’t come home. Maybe he hoped she’d gone and done something reckless. Like finally giving in and hooked up with a guy instead of just scaring the shit out of them with some hardcore flirting. Maybe if she sunk to his level he’d feel validated in leaving her. 

 

Maybe he hoped something worse happened to her.

 

“I texted Joseph,” Robert said, steadfastly focusing on his eggs and bacon. “Told him you were safe.”

 

He looked...scared? Guilty? But he always looked that way when he spoke about Joseph, these days.

 

“And?”

 

“He said thanks.”

 

They finished eating in silence, but it was more awkward than companionable. Mary grabbed their dishes and dumped them in the sink, giving Betsy a quick scratch before grabbing her shoes.

 

“You leaving?” Robert asked, looking up from the TV.

 

Mary sighed. “Last I checked I had four little angels and a husband to get back to, so, yeah.”

 

Robert watched her put her shoes on. It was a lot tricker when the inside of her left pump had some sort of alcoholic beverage spilt in it and she had no clue where her tights had ended up. “Is he gonna be mad?”

 

Mary let out a bark of laughter. “His alcoholic, child hating whore of a wife got so drunk she didn’t some home last night. He’d be stupid if he wasn’t.” 

  
Robert’s expression hardened with each insult she threw at herself. “Mary, you’re not… He shouldn’t treat you like that.”

 

“ _ Please _ , he’s far too noble to say something like that.”

 

Robert’s expression didn’t ease. “Still, he has no right to even think that about you.”

 

“That’s not true and you know it.”

 

“Yes, it is. The things he does…”

 

“...Are awful,” Mary conceded,”But come on, Robert. Can you honestly say I don’t deserve it?”

 

“Not from him!” Robert was raising his voice now. It felt good to shout back. To argue back and forth without the fear of hurting her children.

 

“Then from who? You?” Mary laughed. “From the guy that fucked my husband? The guy that’s so drunk that-” She cut herself off.

 

“What?” Robert smiled, twisted and bitter, and held his arms out, “The guy that’s so drunk his daughter won’t even talk to him? Is that what you were gonna say?”

 

“Robert-”

 

“No. I know what I am, and I know what I’ve done-” he paused, breathing heavily, “-and a lot of that was awful. I’m sorry.”

 

Mary watched him with a guarded expression, fists still clenched by her sides.

 

“But even I can see that you need help, Mary, and you need to be treated better. Joseph can’t give you that and neither can I,” Robert continued, concern painting his face and voice.

 

“So what? I should go and confess? Should I go see a shrink? In this tiny, bitchy town full of shitty people-”

 

“Maybe,” Robert said.

 

The idea of a shrink wasn’t appealing. Pouring her brain out to a stranger who’d degree would tell her all about her daddy issues didn’t sound like her idea of a good night. She vividly remembered her parents judgement of therapists, and anyone that saw them. Mary had shaken most habits she’d picked up from her parents, but evidently this was a view they shared.

 

Still, it was clear that Robert was onto  _ something _ . She couldn’t talk to Joseph without an argument and, God, she was doing the same thing with Robert. After he took care of her, gave up his bed for her… And then stood in front of her, with a broken expression on his face all but begging her to get ‘help’.

 

Look at the people around her. Ten years ago Joseph would have cut off his arm before leaving her, and now he’s probably glad he got a night off from her whining. Robert was sympathetic, but the sooner he figured out what she did to people the better. What had she done, when he was in his lowest moments? ‘Took care’ of him? She’d poured drinks down his throat then dragged him home, ready for the next night, all for the sake of having a friend as miserable as herself. God, she was pathetic.

 

Mary took a deep breath, held it, then let out. Rinse and repeat until they stopped coming out shaky. Everything was fine. She’d go back home, and Joseph would chew her out, and maybe in a few days she’d trust herself enough to hold her babies close and tell them how much she loved them. She could take them to the park. Christie loved the big open space to run in and Chris was fond of any animal that made a particularly loud and annoying noise. 

 

She clung to that vision as she opened her eyes. She didn’t remember closing them. Robert was stood in front of her, still visibly worried.

 

“Thanks for your concern, Robert.”

 

There was a beat of silence before he replied. “You’re welcome.”

 

“I have to go home.”

 

Another beat. “Okay.”

 

Mary walked out of the house and carefully didn’t look back.

**Author's Note:**

> It's half 1 in the morning and I just love this relationship so damn much. I'll probably edit this when I add the second chapter.
> 
> Special thanks to Tonnerre for commenting on the previous work in this series and reminding me it exists.
> 
> Also - Mary is not okay guys.


End file.
